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Ralph Peters

Stop whining, men at arms: Women are already in combat

The integration of women into our military to date has been overwhelmingly positive, but there have been undeniable downsides that we should learn from. One example: When the Army integrated basic training a generation ago, physical requirements were lowered for everybody (we pretended otherwise). We now have the chubbiest, tubbiest military since Sgt. Bilko. Physical toughness should be requirement No. 1 for every soldier or Marine.

On the other hand, the Neanderthals among us have to recognize that more than a few women in uniform have not only participated in combat, but performed heroically. In the Military Police Corps, convoy escort duty often led to ambushes and firefights in Iraq. No-nonsense female NCOs won medals for bravery leading men in combat.

What ultimately matters is who can fight. This can’t be about gender above all. It has to be competence-driven.

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I think you’d have to have 18 year old girls register for the draft at the same time you start this new policy. How can you draft men and not women? I think a boy just turning 18 today could challenge the selective service registration requirement on the basis that females aren’t required to register, and how does he not win his case at this point?

Another idiotic piece written by someone that has zero experience with the subject. As a retired military person, I can quote Sheriff Joe that this is “a big f’in deal” that will cause a lot of problems for a lot of people.

Also, since women will need to register for the draft, up to what age do they need to register? I think they draft 20 year olds first, then 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 19 and 18, in that order. But I haven’t heard where they dispose of men’s selective service registrations at a particular age so I guess all women will need to register. Certainly all women between 18 and 25 will.

Something tells me they’ll just be getting rid of the selective service for good in the next few weeks.

I think that’s the next political gambit Obama has in store for Republicans. After years of Democrats threatening the draft, they will suddenly, in lockstep, call for the end of selective service. Republicans will either be the bad guy who wants to force our sons and daughters to die in a war, and force millions of women between the ages of 18 and 25 to register en masse for selective service, or they have to agree to weaken our military readiness.

I don’t know, there might be some potential PR value were women to be used to take out a group of terrorists. Even if they got captured, raped, tortured, or killed the PR value might hit a nerve in the MSM.